Apparatus for producing fire extinguishing foam



Oct. 9, 1945. F. J. HOGENMILLER 2,336,464

I APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FIRE EXTINGUISHING FOAM Filed March 12. 1943 ZSheetS-Shet 1 r a a7 I fig I v Jiwmwr; I FRANCIS J. HOGENMILLER oct; 9;1945.

" F. J. HOGENMILLERI APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FIRE EXTINGUISHING FOAMFiled March 12, 1943 2 Sheets-She ei; 2

FR J HOGEN MILLER 1'7 .flmmea Patented Oct. 9, 1945 i ilelp bilized streamat gthe locus of introduction ofai-r Q11 other gas,= said means-beingiadanted ioreme ploymer tjtgenerally system 'i r grooming meehan-iea lor; air loam, as for example, v s eh as are described and shown in vUnited States; Letters Patent No; 240541143, rantedaanuany 18,; 193B,aJldND'.2, l984585,. granted.Apri123, l9.40.

1111,1119 production qrmecnanmm foam, ginorder tof bt nan adequatevolume .of foam in relatio to thejlamq nto water .used,'it;is.neces w ito timely subdivide gnfldijSPIlSgtheistr'anrof wee ter at thelocus'ofintroduction of the aim, not only to proviele :01" a substantialincrease inthe total surface areabi the; watelffibutialso to provide'foran'intimate mingling offthewfater stahilizer and air in the mixing.zone. WhilevariOus eig pedien-ts have been resorted toff qr effectingturbulence in the stream, in practically a'll' cases sneh'turbu-lencehas been "based-upon the 'prin'ciple o f mechanically subdividing-orbreaking the" flowing -strea-m at the-point 101'. in the zone whereairis to be entrained therein. The deviple of the-presentinveirtionoperates 'to create turbu lence in the'flo'i'lvi-ng'"stream through theen'ip'lojy merit of means for increasing substantially the surface areaof the waterstream by having ap rQ tion thereof discharged in 'the formof anoutwardly flaring cone andothe r portions '-}i-n'--the-" form ofjets which "intersect the conical stream at; a plurality ofcircumferentia1ly spaced points originally solid stream.

to thereby disrupt and disperse effectively :the

In one form of the presentinvention; the stream discharger is employed.to discharge-water mixed with the stabilizing material simultaneouslyinthe'shape of said ouwvartlh, flaring none and said intersectingjets,.'whi1e iriianother fomn'it is vemployed to discharge water mixedwith stabilizing material in the shape of saidreoneand plane 2W3- ter inthe shape iOf said. intersecting ilfitS, itshein mon the objects of theinvention to eff-,ectuin,

both instances, the discharge :of :t-he eerxefind 18 in such manner :andin :sueh relation one-to the otherr that not onlyvis :the originalisolidstream APPKRATU'SFOR P 6 v,

" rim e s.,n genmmer, Phi ad phia, P831- .7 signer 410 National Fo S s mn wBhfl ,1Ba,, ai'corporationxqif ll elaware a also thoroughfmixin ofthe water}; stabiliz ng material andair is insured to produce the largest possible volume of team. ;A-stil'l-f u rther' ob'-ject isto-provigiein a devide-of the eharetei aiferesaiimmeans forbreliminarily aspirating'air iint'o the stabilized stream jus't priortownsmm Where it fis renlel etl turbulent, tk'i'is mearis being employedgenerally in that a r remgeme-nt w'herein "the wa ter initially lmixedtkie'stzlbil i-zing material 'ifor' delivery, as a solid'stream', tothe' d-is'charger :neafi. l flthersobfiedts and advantages ofitheinvention willappearimore fiul'ly. hereinafter, "being-uhclerstood'fthat the p'resent invetition fcofJSiStS subs'tantia'lly in thezqomliination, construction, tlocatioh and a'ela'tive arrangement-ofparts, za'llias will appear more fully aheremafter; .assshown a-indiheaccompanying wdralwings and sets finally :pointed outfinitheappended-mamas.

aoeomparryiingdrawirgs, which the ile lustnatme '[of remain iprefernedembodiments not" the present invention: i :Fi ume 11 L sa perspective'ViBWAOf' arfnam generator monstnuotediin meordance with land? :embndymgthe CpfinQipleS'EDflfihB. lpresent invention Figure '2 :is azside'eleizatienal 'Miew ioi :a. foam elisehareine icondnit :fitteid who thestream -dis changer the mesent :mtention'r F emre :31 is :awielzv-hfzthe discharge end of said ehsehargerz" 'f 1 Figure- 4 1813.*view' ofithe inlet-end thereoi;

-- fi ure i P is a :oentra11,,longitudinal sectional vieweaimhestreamfiiseharger taken on the lline llieere -10 Iis-a lview ef the.irr-letiend thereof; and

Rights: :11- is'a seotiohel 'view taken "on the line fiefierrir g owtotheldnawings and more particulaxly 1110*Fifi116551gfif1d 2, it will beunderstood tliet foamggenemtin devieegtlesignated generally M! therzneference enumenafl: L0, -fi ptfl tonben-eonneeted; by means or F1138interiorly threaded fend I I, to? a" conduit 1 Knot show-n);

th-soughwhich; is supplied, under, suitable presgtheistabilizer slution, usualy oon isti-ng lof water with which is intimately mixed afoam promoting agent, such as saponin or other suitable substance knownin the art generally as so-called air or mechanical foam in accordancewith the principles described in the aforesaid patents, Nos. 2,106,043and 2,l98,58 5, the= foam so produced being discharged by way of theflex: ible conduit I2 and the nozzle 13. Y

Referring now more particularly to Figures 3 to 7 inclusive, whichillustrate one embodiment of the device In, it will be observed that. itincludes a main body member 14, the rear end of which is connected tothe conduit supplying the foam-forming solution, while the forward endis fitted with an open cage member I5 connected to the flexible conduitsection terminating in the foam discharge nozzle [3. The body member I4is provided with an internal transverse web l6 having a central bore l1extending longitudinally therethrough, the rear portion [8 of said borebeing of enlarged diameter and internally threaded, as at l9, to receivethe tubular member 20. The bore 2l' of this latter memberlis of suchrestricted diameterin relation to the diameter of the axially spacedforward section of the bore I! as to form an ejector for entraining airfrom atmosphere into the stabilized streamapproximately at the pointwhere such stream emerges from the bore 2 I, this air being supplied byway of the passages 22, each of which extends longitudinally through theweb I6 from the forward face of the body member M to a transversepassage 23 in communication with the annular space 24 surrounding theinternal member 20. 1

The stabilized stream of water ejected from the member passes throughthe forward section of the bore [1 in the form of a high veloc-' ity jetand is directed against the tip of a conical deflector element 25 whichis fitted in=the flared outer or discharge end of the bore I1. It willbe apparent that impingement'of the jet upon the tip of the deflectorelement 25'will cause it to emerg'e from the bore H in the form of anoutwardly flaring annular stream which, because of its increased surfacearea, has an increased capacity for entraining air. Preferably, thisflaring stream is brokenup and subdivided into several segments by theradially extending elements 26 which are secured to and support theconical deflector 25in positl0i'i.

The arcuate recesses 21-21 in the body mem ber III, which are formedupon opposite sides of the web l6, communicate with the supplyconduitand are provided at their outer ends with restricted discharge openings28-28 formed in the front end wall of the body member. These dischargeopenings 28-28 are uniformly spaced from each other with their axesrelatively so inclined that they intersect the surface of the conicalstream formed by the conical deflector element 25' at points withinthe'confines of the open cage member I5. Inasmuch as the jets emerging fromthe openings 28- 28 converge toward the central axis of the stream whilethe streamernerging from the bore I'l diverges from saidax'is', 'it willbe apparent that the several jets willintersect the surface of theconical stream in regions spaced'about a central common axis.

In consequence, the stream is subjected to a high degree of turbulenceand is broken up into such minute particles that a greater than normalamount of air is entrained therein with resulting increase in theformation of foam.

It will be observed that in the form of apparatus just described, thefoam-forming solution consisting of water mixed with the stabilizeragent is delivered to the jet discharger H] for "discharge therefromsimultaneously by way of the restricted jet discharge openings 28 and bywayof the outwardly flaring restricted passage 2 9 formed between theconical deflector element 25'and the tapered wall 30 formed at the outerend of the'central passage II. It is also important to note that byvirtue of the passages 22--22 and-23', which are in communication withatmosphere, a certain amount of air is entrained in the central portionof the solid stream of the solution whichemerges from the passage IT inthe form of an outwardly flaring stream. The air which is thuspreliminarily entrained in this central portion of the stream becomesmore or less thoroughly mixed with the solution as the said streamemerges from the conical passage 29; this aeration of the stream beingfacilitated by its impingement against the tip of the conical deflectorelement 25 and its radial supporting elements 26. The outwardly flaringannular stream of foam-forming solution, which is thus impregnated'withair, is still further aerated by the aspiration of air drawn fromatmosphere in the several zones of turbulence created by the impingementof the severaljets of solution dischargedfrom the openings 28 againstthe surface of the central annular stream of solution. These convergingjets which are discharged from the restricted openings 28 not onlyimpinge against and so break up the, outwardly flaring conical stream tocreate several zones of turbulence spaced about the central axis ofthestream, but they also ,tend to pierce the said conical stream for,convergence at apoint along said axis to create .stillanother andindependent zone of turbulence, in consequence of which theoriginallysolid stream of foam-forming solution no longer exists assuch, but isinstead so finely subdivided as to make possible theentrainment of the greatest possible amount of air practicallyinstantaneously in the several closely related zones of turbulence, thusinsuring the production of the largest possible volume of foam in eringthe pre-mixed foam-forming solution to thedischarger as hereinbeforedescribed. In such case, the discharger may be modified somewhat asshown in Figures 8 to 11 inclusive, wherein it will be observed thatinstead of providing for preliminary aspiration of air into the centralportionof the fluid stream prior to its discharge from the'conically-sha'ped discharge opening, foam-stabilizing material is drawnby suction into said portion of the stream.

Thus, the main body member 3| of the discharger'is provided, exactly asin its previously described form, with an'internal transverse web 32having a central bore 32 extending longitudinally therethro'ugh, therear portion of which is enlarged, as at 33, to receive the tubularinsert 34. The web 32, however, need not extend across the ifull'diameter of the internal recess of the memberel t; :but' insteadmayextendraeiallyirrweirdly from one side of "said "recess to a pointspaced fromathe diametrically opposedside of the recess so' asto provideat C shaped space 35 extending aboutthe web 32:. The closed frontal endiifiidf thedischarger'bddy is provided, as the previeusly described:form; with -a-epl1irality of restricted di-scharge openings 31 the axesoil which, preferably, are relatively. so inclined" that they produceconverging jets which are directed along lines whictrintersect at-apoint located'frontadly 35 fsurroundingithevinternaltubular member whilethe onteriend' of sa-id'passage is. threaded, as att'lt', to'receive oneend of. a. pick-up tuh. ii leading toa supply of liquid stabilizingmaterial: ,7 w i Wh'en the discharger o lz, Figures 8' to suit ablyconnected "to the water 'supply line, clear water under pressure entersthe internal'recess 35 andis discharged therefrorn hy the way of therestricted openings 31 in the form of high velocity jets, preferablyconverging to a common point where they impinge and create a turbulentcondition in the stream to facilitate the aspiration therein, of airfrom atmosphere. At the same time, a portion of this clear water streamenters the bore of the tubular member 34 and, in pass-- ing therefrom inthe form of a high velocity jet into the central passage 32*, aninjector action is induced which causes the stabilizing material to bedrawn by suction from its source of supply (not shown) through thepick-up tube 41 into the stream of water approximately at the pointwhere it emerges from the bore of the member 34. Thus, foam-formingsolution, consisting of water mixed with the stabilizer, isdischargedfrom thecentral passage 32 in the form of an outwardly flaring annularstream, the outer end of said passage beingshaped and provided with aconical deflector as in the previously described form of the discharger.

Except for the fact that in'the discharger of Figures 8 to 11, theliquid discharged from the jet openings 31 is plain water free ofstabilizing material, whereas in that of Figures 3 to 6 the theoperation of both forms of the discharger is essentially the samebecause in both cases the central outwardly flaring stream, which iscomposed of foam-forming solution, is finely subdivided and dispersed bythe impinging jets emerging from the restricted jet openings with thenet result that seevral zones of turbulence are created in the presenceof air from atmosphere to produce an intimate mixture of water,stabilizing material and air under such conditions of agitation as'toproduce a maximum amount of foam.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. In an apparatus for producing fire extinguishing foam, afoam-delivery tube having an entrance end and an open discharge end, ajet discharger for a foam-forming solution secured to the entrance endof the tube in axially spaced relation with respect thereto to provide aspace open to atmosphere between the discharger and the tube, saiddischarger being provided with an integral forward end wall havingformed therein a neutral restricted passage for the delivery of afoam-forming solution therethroughin the rormof a high velocity jet,meansin the terminal 'of'and galong the centralqaxis of the dischargerandwithkhe confines cfcthe open cage mem' end of said passagetoeffectthe discharge of the jet into said open space in the form of anoutwardly divergent annular stream, and 'means for: entraining air fromatmospherethrough said end wall and into said jet preliminarily to itsdischarge-from said passage.

2. In an apparatus for producing fire extinguishing foam-,afoam-delivery tube having an entrance end and an open discharge end, ajet discharger for a foam-forming solution secured to the entrance endof the tube: in axially spaced relation-with respect thereto to providea space open toatmosphere between the discharger and the-tube, saiddischarger being provided with an integral forward end wall having abore extendmg axiallytherethrough, said bore terminatingatits-rearen'din anenlarged recess which is in communication with theatmosphere by way of l passages formed the body of the discharger liquidis water charged with stabilizing material, a

and extending through said end wall, a tubular member fitted insaidrecess with its bore axially alined 'a'nd spaced from saidfirst-mentioned bore, the boreof' said tubular element beingof suchrestricteddiameter-relatively to that of saidfirstmentioned bore thai;as the solution passes fromthe restricted bore into the first-mentionedbore in the form of a high velocity jet, air from atmosphere isentrained in said jet.

3. In an apparatus for producing fire extinguishing foam, afoam-delivery tube having an entrance end and an open discharge end, ajet discharger for a foam-forming solution secured formed in the body ofthe discharger and ex- I tending through said end Wall, a tubular memberfitted in said'recess with its bore axially alined and spaced from saidfirst-mentioned bore, the bore of said tubular element being of suchrestricted diameter relatively to that of said first- .mentioned borethat as the solution passes from therestricted bore into thefirst-mentioned bore in the form of a'high velocity jet, air from at-'mosphere is entrained in said jet, and means in the terminal end of saidfirst-mentioned bore to effect the discharge of the solution entrainedwith air in the form of an outwardly divergent annular stream.

4. In an apparatus for producing fire extinguishing foam wherein isemployed a foam-conveying tube having entrance and discharge ends, a jetdischarger for a foam-forming solution adapted to be secured to theentrance end of the tube in axially spaced relation with respect theretoto provide a space open to atmosphere between the discharger and thetube, said discharger including a main body member through which axiallyextends a central bore having an externally threaded outwardly flaredterminal portion, a tubular element fitted in the rear end of said boreand having a restricted passage therethrough coaxialcwith the bore toefiect the delivery of a solid stream of liquid at high velocity throughsaid bore, a conical deflector fixedly secured in the terminal portionof said bore to provide conjointly with said terminal portion anoutwardly flared annular recess by whichkthe said high velocity streamis: discharged through the said space open to atmosphere in the form ofan outwardly divergent annular stream of such ample external surfacearea as to render it ca-, pable of entraining a substantial quantity ofair from atmosphere, said conical deflector having radial elementsengaging the end of said terminal portion, and. an annular retainerthreadedly engaging said threaded terminal portion to clamp said radialelements in position with said conical element centered in the terminalportion of the central boreaforesaid.

5. Inan apparatus for p'roducing'fire extinguishingi foam wherein isemployed a foam-conveying tube having entrance and discharge ends, a jetdischarger for a foam-forming solution adapted to be secured to theentrance end of the tube in axially spaced relation with respect there--to to provide a space open to atmosphere between the discharger and thetube, said discharger ineluding a-mainbody member through which axieally extends a central bore having an externally threaded outwardlyflared forward terminal portion, said bore terminatingat its rear end inan enlarged recess in communication with a passage extending laterallythrough the discharger body for connection to a supply of foam-formingmaterial, a tubular element fitted in said enlarged recess and having arestricted passage coaxial with said bore to effect the delivery of asolid stream of liquid at high velocitythrough said bore, saidtubularelement being axially spaced from said bore and so operativelyassociated therewith as to provide an ejector means within the body ofsaid discharger for entraining foamforming material in said solidstream' of liquid by suction, a conical deflector fixedly secured in theterminal portion of said bore to provide conjointly with said terminalend an outwardly flared annular recess by which the said high velocitystream is discharged through the said space open to atmosphere in theform of an outwardly divergent annular stream of such ample externalsurface area as to render it capable of entraining a substantialquantity of air from atmosphere, said conical deflector having spacedradial elements engaging the end of said terminal portion, and anannular retainer internally threaded to engage said threaded terminalportion for clamping said radial elements in position with the conicalelement centered in the terminal portion of the bore aforesaid. v

FRANCIS J. HOGENMILLER.

